JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (February 22, 2010) –– In one of the worst economies of the past half-century a Jacksonville business owner went against all his entrepreneurial instincts that helped him build a multi-faceted, multi-million dollar company and got back to his roots. After 16 years of seeing unprecedented growth in both revenue and market share, DiscoverTec founder & CEO Donny Lamey sold off all his primary service departments except the ones that got him where he is today.
Over 16 years ago, Lamey, a Mississippi native, founded DiscoverTec as an information technology company shortly after graduating with a BS in Management Information Systems from the University of West Florida. Early on he saw the huge, unlimited potential of information technology and the world wide web and built DiscoverTec into a multi-million dollar company throughout the 2000’s. At its peak, DiscoverTec had over 80 employees, 2 offices and over 6 primary service departments including web design, home automation, security systems, virtual offices and inside wiring.
Fast forward to 2007, Lamey was faced with an economy that was showing signs of serious decline and many business owners around the country saw a potentially devastating situation on the horizon. However, Lamey saw opportunity and made the decision to focus in on what drew him into starting DiscoverTec over a decade earlier, cutting-edge technology services like custom website development and IT solutions.
“As we grew I started to see a split between the construction world of home automation and the hospitality world of virtual offices and then there was the technical world of web development, I couldn’t focus in what I really wanted my company to be,” Lamey said in a recent interview. According to www.DiscoverTec.com, the company’s Vision Statement is “To be the Southeast leader in Technology Services”. To that end, Lamey has sold off every division of his company with the exception of the two divisions that are technology-based.
Today, DiscoverTec is a Microsoft Gold Partner offering web design & development, internet marketing and IT solutions. Lamey said that while his company is about a third the size it used to be in years past, he still realized steady growth in 2009 when most of his competitor’s struggled just to stay in business. “We actually grew our team and by streamlining our product and service offerings it allowed me to get more involved with our customers and I was able to be more hands-on with the day-to-day operations,” said Lamey.
Staying busy has never been a problem for Lamey, who was named one of the Top 40 under 40 “Up and Comers” and is honored to be President Elect of The Southpoint Rotary Club and serve on the board for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. On February 27, 2010, The Southpoint Rotary Club is presenting Biker Blast III, an event Lamey founded in 2008 that sees its primary proceeds go to the Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
“Being active in the community is how I built this company and it was difficult to stay active as we grew. Now I have more time to dedicate to that and giving back has always been very important to me,” stated Lamey.
For Lamey, going back to his roots helped his company take a huge step forward.
We've been fortunate to enjoy a busy 2010 so far and this week was no exception as we launched another website live. Workplace Solutions is a Women-Owned business that provides commercial interior products and services and specializes in government contracts. They have been a loyal customer of ours for over 5 years and we really wanted to show them how much we appreciated their repeat business by building them an amazing website.
Workplace Solutions is in an extremely competitive industry and their projects are very large in scope, we needed to provide them with a professional looking site that had a certain "wow" factor that instantly captured the attention of their users. One of the best ways to create this effect is by using Motion Graphics and for this site we pulled out all the stops.
We created custom transitions that matched the linear look and feel the client wanted and used clean, specialized stock photography to create an engaging effect that captured a visitor's attention immediately. The branding they wanted to incorporate was smart and to the point and we were able to integrate using a fading text effect that served as a narrative for the entire piece.
Overall we're very proud of the end result and Workplace is pleased as well. Another key feature of the site is an interactive project map that allows prospective customers to get an idea of the scope and geography of their work. For this we implemented some cutting-edge JavaScript so that when a user mouses over the various projects on the map they can view the details in a mini pop-up overlay.
Please check out the site at www.Workplace.us and as always let us know how did in the comment section below. Have a great weekend!
For over 30 years former Orange Park mayor Pete Morgan has been in the residential and commercial construction business and wanted a new website that highlighted his experience, expertise and commitment to quality work. DiscoverTec worked closely with Mr. Morgan and his son Haley to design and launch the site and we're very pleased with the final product.
We often compare building a website to building a house so it was a natural fit to work with the Morgan family. They wanted a casual, easy-to-use site that had a clean, professional look and feel and really let people experience their unique, hands-on way of approaching building and remodeling.
We also installed a cutting-edge Content Management System on the site so that Pete & his team could update the info whenever they need to quickly and easily. Head on over to www.PeteMorganBuilders.com and check out the site, and we'd appreciate it if you'd leave your comments below to let us know how we did.
Giving back to the community, whether on a local or international level, has always been a high priority for DiscoverTec. President & CEO Donny Lamey has consistently made it a point to organize fundraisers, sponsor non-profit events and directly donate money to help various causes over the course of his company's 16+ year history.
With the recent tragedy that struck Haiti DiscoverTec organized a donation drive that raised over $600 that was sent directly to relief efforts via the Southpoint Rotary Club. Lamey than personally matched the raise bringing over $1,200 in relief after a series of devastating earthquakes struck the already poverty-stricken nation.
DiscoverTec's employees, clients & friends all chipped in with whatever they could to help. If you'd like to contribute to our efforts please visit our contact page and let us know.
DiscoverTec Sponsors Rotary Biker Blast III
The Southpoint Rotary Biker Blast benefitstheWolfson Children's Hospital and other local charities. This event is in its third year and is expected to be a huge success. Due to an incredible growth in popularity this year the party is being held at the Jacksonville Landing, on February 27th. Join us for live music, great food, and the chance to win a Harley! Visit www.rotarybikerblast.com for more information.
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